Definitions and explanations of terms for the potential home buyer

 Title - Proof of ownership of real property. Legal possesion of the title means you can hold, occupy, enjoy, and sell the property without interference(aside from government restrictions and laws.

 Transfer of Title - Recording a new deed from the Grantor(or Seller) to the Grantee(or Buyer)among the local land records, thus transferring the ownership of real property from one party to another.

 Title Defects - Events in the history of the property's ownership that may inhibit the current or potential new owners rights. A title examiner inspects the title for potentialdefects from the abstract or history of the property.

 Title Insurance - Protection against financial loss resulting from defects in title.

Title Insurance protects you from the following:

Signature forgery,         Document Fraud

Undue influence on the executor,  Missing heirs

False impersonation of ownership, Insufficient survey

Pretense of marriage by grantors, Inaccurrate indexing

Improperly probated will, Conveyance by a minor

Misinterpreation of wills and trusts, 

Mental incompetance of grantors, Faulty legal description

Birth of heirs after the date of will,

Failure to deliver deeds, Unsatisfied claims not on record

Deed execution by false powers of attorney

Mistaken identity from similar/identical names

Claims by ex-spouses(or of former owners)

Clerical errors in recording legal documents

Death of a grantor before deed is delivered

An open prior owner's bankruptcy

Procedural error in a prior foreclosure.